News

Wombwell Residents To Help Decide Where Money Is Spent

Tuesday February 26 2013

WOMBWELL residents are being invited to help decide how almost £150,000 of community funding should be spent.

The Wombwell Community Alliance is one of several established by the council to take a more active role in the running of the town in light of the £75m being cut from the council's budget over six years.

After consulting residents and community groups, the Alliance will draw up a business-style plan with broad aims for which any allocation of funding will have to come under.

Two public meetings - one in the evening and one in the afternoon - are expected to take place in April, though exact dates have yet to be confirmed. These meetings will allow residents to make their priorities known.

Alan Taylor, secretary of the Alliance, said: "If we can get as many people in Wombwell behind us and committed to it, there's more of a chance of it working."

Most people, even if they would like to express an opinion are unlikely to turn out for a meeting. These types of forum need to use other means to gather opinion like e-mail, twitter, facebook, WAB, dedicated websites etc. That way the wider community might feel like decisions are legitimate and not just in the hands of a minority.

i agree with king louis they will do what they want anyway i saw it all the time as a comittee member of goldthorpe tennants and residents in the 90s no one wants the 50 odd houses building on the aldham eastate but were getting em this year so why bother with surveys and waisting money when they just do it no matter wheat we say

The disused garage site behind Hough Lane/ Rutland place could do with clearing of all the glass and debris and a play area put there. Such a nice bit of land in the centre of the estate and just left to overgrown when there a a number of young families there

It is so disappointing when uninformed people write comments such as some of these. The Wombwell Community Alliance is a newly formed group of volunteers who give their time to improve Wombwell and the group needs to be given a chance.

There will be no secret ballot, no doing what we want to do but being realistic there will be limits on what we are able to achieve and influence.

One thing for certain is that Wombwell needs volunteers to improve the area and we will not just be looking for views on what needs doing but for volunteers to do it! Those who wish to comment would be better being constructive and coming to one of the meetings and volunteering.

We will be using alternative methods of communication such as Twitter and possibly Facebook and it is very likely we will have our own web site but it is early days. However these media have limitations and without a meeting where we can explain the background, alternative communications will have little impact.

Rome wasn't built in a day and Wombwell will not be improved in a week!